Greet the morning with these perfectly sweet Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Muffins. With a scoop of cocoa powder, a shot of instant coffee granules, and a handful of dark chocolate chips, these muffins are full of rich chocolate flavor.
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
Raise your hand if you are one of those super crafty, Pinterest perfection, project loving mommies…or daddies. Do I have a few hands up? Anyone, anyone??? Well not sure who’s a part of this esteemed group of skilled persons, but there ain’t no hand raising over here. The only raising I’m doing is in terms of my blood pressure when I hear the word “craft”. Shudder.
Emry is in kindergarten and she came home a few days ago with an assignment to create a Valentines box to store all her goodies from her class party. Like every kid, she wants to start on it the second she receives the assignment. Oh sure, let me find time between dance, gymnastics, AND cheer all on the same day to make you a Valentines box.
Wait, a BOX???! Do I even have a box lying around? Now do I have to go BUY a box??? Have I bought a pair of shoes recently? Crap, do I have to go buy a NEW pair of shoes just to get a box? A box that’s going to be glued on, glittered on, scribbled on, and then find it’s way to the trash eventually?!
Oh SHEESH! I mean, finding a box has me worked up enough and now you want me to go and decorate it with a VERY opinionated five year old.
So, of course, I made excuses to postpone the box making until the weekend. And then in true mom brain fashion, I forgot. Sunday night rolled around and nearing about 7 o’clock, what thought popped into my head??? THE BOXXXXXX!!!
I frantically ran around the house, scouring the closets and garage for something that could be turned into a Valentines box (shoe box found, hallelujah) and then I consulted Pinterest. Thank you Pinterest for giving me an almost immediate and debilitating heart attack over extravagant images of what boxes you expect me to create for my child: round puffy cupcakes, two-tiered unicorns, rainbow barfing emojis, and fluffy kittens constructed out of individually glued on strings of yarn. Who makes these???
Luckily Emry spotted a single box, simple unicorn face and was dead set on creating her own version. Off to my one measly, half full craft bin for further inspiration. A few pom poms, heart stickers, construction paper, and an absurd amount of glitter later, something resembling a unicorn emerged.
Now, one could definitely classify our version of this unicorn Valentines box a “Pinterest fail”. I wouldn’t even be offended. Visually, I see where you might get that idea. However, the joy in Emry’s face following the explosion of glitter leads me to believe that this was by all means a Pinterest success! Can you tell which one is ours???
Besides having pink glitter in my kitchen for the next decade, this project wasn’t at all as torturous as anticipated. It’s a great day when you realize your children are pretty self sufficient with their own projects, minus the burned fingertip on the glue gun…which ironically enough, I was actually assisting with that portion. See, I’m hopeless.
So back to these Pinterest fails. Do you guys ever get discouraged trying to follow Pinterest tutorials only to find out you are one completely inadequate loser when it relates to following directions??? Or am I the only one? Let’s hope not.
I’ve gotten to the point where I rarely search for recipes online because a vast majority of them never turn out as pictured. It’s extremely frustrating and borderline infuriating, especially when you feel like you’re wasting your time and ingredients. However, I know I am not an expert at all things cooking/baking so I still have to trust others to provide me with tutorials or, in the very least, inspiration for various foods.
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
I have been wanting to create a perfect chocolate muffin on my own, but just haven’t succeeded. They’re either too dry, too flat, too chewy, too crumbly, you name it. I swallowed my pride and finally reached out to the world of Pinterest where I stumbled upon a post for double chocolate muffins by Life Made Simple. And you know what, they tasted like she said they would taste and they looked the way hers looked. It’s a baking day miracle!!!
Now I did make a few tweaks, which one has to do when converting a regular recipe to gluten free. I added a bit more oil and sour cream to assure my muffins weren’t dry, as well as increased the salt (I always add more salt, trust me) and the baking powder. Plus, I threw in a pinch of instant coffee granules to compliment the dark chocolate flavor. The end result? Fabulous, just FABULOUS!
I’m telling you, these Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Muffins will not disappoint. They’re sweet without being sickening, they have a beautiful rise, and they are easy to freeze for future eating pleasure. What more could you want?!
Braelyn literally asked for these muffins every morning for almost a week. I finally cut her off and said she needed a break from chocolate for breakfast. Boy does that girl have a sweet tooth! She’s part of the reason I started making my kids eat whatever I make myself each morning for breakfast. She needed to switch it up between her usual baked goods and cereal and instead incorporate some veggies, fruits and eggs here and there. She’s slowly adapting. Haha!
The rise of these muffins are what initially sold me. So many times, gluten free muffins will rise and then sink the minute you take them out of the oven. And the times where they do keep their beautiful dome, it’s usually because they have too much flour and end up being dry, gummy, or dense…all of which are unappealing to the taste. These muffins have the dome along with the perfect texture, which is almost unheard of. A win for sure!
I also love the fact that these muffins are NOT cupcakes. I cringe at the thought of eating a gallon of sugar in my muffins for breakfast. Okay, not really that much, but sometimes it seems like it. I know super sweet things are yummy, but save those for dessert. These muffins have the perfect sweetness; sweet enough to be indulgent, but not overly sweet to the point you’re starting your day off backwards with dessert.
Now it’s completely optional, but I also added some coffee granules to these muffins. They don’t actually have a coffee flavor, but it intensifies the chocolate flavor which is a no brainer. So, if you have instant coffee on hand, I highly recommend it. Otherwise, go straight chocolate.
I was also impressed that I didn’t have to use any xanthan gum in these muffins. They held together fantastically with my preferred flour blend. I can’t guarantee how another flour blend without xanthan gum will work, but it’s worth a try. Most gluten free blends have xanthan gum anyway, so you shouldn’t have an issue with these holding together. Just know that your muffins will have more of a chew if you opt to use a gluten free all-purpose flour mix.
You guys, I’m telling you Life Made Simple is a genius. Her muffins are amazing and I’m so glad I stumbled upon her recipe of all others. Refer to my recipe if you’re in need of gluten free, otherwise you can follow hers directly. She has some amazing recipes on her site!
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Gluten Free Vegan Gingerbread Muffins
- Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Zucchini Banana Muffins
- Gluten Free Applesauce Streusel Muffins
- Gluten Free Honey Cornbread Muffins
- Gluten Free Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon oil
- ¾ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules (optional)
- ⅓ cup hot water
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1⅔ cups high quality gluten free all-purpose flour, preferably with no added gums, or my preferred blend of ½ cup white rice flour (73 g), ⅓ cup brown rice flour (45 g), ⅓ cup gluten free oat (40 g) OR sorghum flour (44 g), ⅓ cup tapioca starch (42 g), and ¼ cup potato starch (39 g)*
- ¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons full fat sour cream (250 g)
- 1½ cups dark chocolate chips, plus more for topping
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill standard muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together oil, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and coffee granules.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat water for 30-45 seconds until hot. Add cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Pour into egg mixture and whisk until smooth.
- In a separate smaller mixing bowl, sift together salt, baking powder, baking soda, and gluten free flour or my preferred blend. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet and stir until combined. Add sour cream and stir until smooth. Add remaining flour mixture and stir until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Fill muffin tins ¾ way full and top with a few extra chocolate chips. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes or until tops spring back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean with few moist crumbs.
- Remove from oven and set on cooling rack for 3-5 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and cool directly on rack until completely cool.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in fridge for up to 1 week, or in freezer for up to 3 months.
- You may warm muffins slightly before serving in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.
ALSO: These held together fantastically with my preferred flour blend. I can't guarantee how another flour blend without xanthan gum will work, but it's worth a try. Most gluten free blends have xathan gum, so you shouldn't have an issue with these holding together. Just know that your muffins will have more of a chew if you opt to use a gluten free all-purpose flour mix as opposed to my blend.
